Archive for the ‘LGBT’ Category

The Rainbow Book Bus

Thursday, February 8th, 2024

I am pleased to announce that I’m teaming up with The Rainbow Book Bus.

Their mission:

The Rainbow Book Bus distributes diverse books to communities with reduced access to them, both in LA County and across the country.  We aim to support and amplify organizations that oppose censorship, promote literacy or empower historically underrepresented storytellers. We work towards educational freedom by fighting existing censorship and reacting to future attacks aimed to reduce access to inclusive stories for young people.

I’ve donated copies of Almost Perfect to give away in areas where book censorship is prevalent. As both an author and a librarian, I can’t overstate how much I support this mission.

Follow them on Instagram at @rainbowbookbus

And if you’d like to donate to them, click here.

The Tulane Hullabaloo

Wednesday, February 7th, 2024

An excellent op-ed piece in the Tulane Hullabaloo about the book censorship hullabaloo. Almost Perfect is mentioned.

The Pavement Education Project (North Carolina)

Tuesday, February 6th, 2024

A reader in North Carolina informs me that the Pavement Education Project now has Almost Perfect in their crosshairs in the McDowell County School system, and probably others. They’ve kindly created their own Index Librorum Prohibitorum of books they want pulled from libraries (Almost Perfect is right at the top of the page) and have even gone so far as to release a list of every salty word or questionable scene in the book (note to censors, Sage is a transgender FEMALE, not male). Apparently they also protest ‘near’ schools.

Of course they’re banning books for the sake of those poor, innocent high school students:

These books have sexually inappropriate or confusing gender concepts or content, some including self harm, suicide, violence, and/or racism.

Because it’s their job–not the librarians’ and certainly not the parents’–to decide what every child in that district should read. And shouldn’t racism be something people read about? Like, a lot?

It always cracks me up to read the titles these people are afraid your children will read: Brave New World. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. The Bluest Eye (the only time I’m ever included on a list with Toni Morrison is when we’ve made the same people angry).

If you don’t want your children reading books, that’s your prerogative as a parent. Contact the school, contact the library and tell them that you don’t want your child reading about certain topics. As a school librarian myself, I deal with that frequently (mostly with families who do not celebrate secular holidays). But that is where your rights as a parent and citizen end. You are not the arbiter of what MY child gets to read.

It’s a common internet trope, but a true one: Book censors are never on the right side of history. I can’t think of a single incident when a body, be it a government, a church, or an organization successfully lobbied to pull books from a collection, and history looked kindly on them.

As a librarian, I include books for all stakeholders, not simply those whose world views are in line with mine. No one is forcing your child to read those specific titles, but you feel you have the right to force other people’s children not to.

Happy Yule!

Thursday, December 28th, 2023

My sister ordered me an ornament full of banned and challenged books, and ALMOST PERFECT was one of them!

Banned Book Week

Thursday, October 5th, 2023

Online review of ALMOST PERFECT. They didn’t read it, they just want to ban it.

Banned book of the week!

Tuesday, July 18th, 2023

Consider donating to this fine project: FreeBannedBook.com

Small group compels Beaufort County Schools to remove nearly 100 library books

Thursday, November 24th, 2022

This was in South Carolina. Of course ALMOST PERFECT was on the list.

50 Most Banned books in America

Sunday, November 13th, 2022

ALMOST PERFECT is right up there on the list.

Challenged in Virginia

Sunday, August 28th, 2022

Moms for Liberty is challenging Almost Perfect in Virginia.

Fan Mail

Tuesday, July 26th, 2022

“I just finished reading you book ALMOST PERFECT. Actually, I was shocked that you received an award for it. I am reading our entire School Library of books and I deemed this totally inappropriate for High School. I’d like to tell you why?

First of all, I consider it a “groomer” book. It tells all the details on WHY to start a hormone process early and its an informative book about becoming Trans gender. I don’t consider this condition something to be affirmed. WHY? Because I consider it Body dysphoria. At NO time did you even talk about getting therapy about this condition. Kids cannot process LONG term ramifications of this disease when their adults can’t event explain what is going on in their brains. The family of this son merely screamed and yelled and of course that wasn’t appropriate as well.

I have had several friends navigate this time in their children’s lives by LOVING and seriously helping their child navigate the hormones and serious questions of their condition! Each has successfully navigated to adulthood. I can’t imagine using LIFE changing harmful and and irreversible hormone treatment and ACT like this is NORMAL! Even at the end of this book he “changed back” to being a boy…WHAT did you accomplish? You seductively enticed another boy to get involved using alcohol. ONLY drugs and Alcohol in YOUR world? This is NOT normal.

I can only imagine what you are teaching your own children…and I hope you are NOT around kids today! I’m just sick the Teacher Unions have put our children in these situations and have tried to “normalize” this as a real behavior instead of treatments that satisfy their needs.

Would you affirm eating disorders? Or a child saying their were an animal? I will use everything in my power to fight against this evil! If someone after 21 wants to cut off body parts and use hormones then that’s their business…

But PLEASE stay FAR away from my children!

Thank you for listening….”